An Irish short film about love under lockdown has been longlisted for the 2021 Oscars

The film won the Best Short Documentary award at the Galway Film Fleadh earlier this month

The Irish short film How To Fall In Love In A Pandemic has been longlisted for an Oscar at the 2021 awards.

The film, by Meath filmmaker Michael-David McKernan, shows the experience of two Irish creatives who are forced to quarantine together after knowing each other for just two weeks.

It follows Michael-David and Mimi, two filmmakers who meet on Tinder in Chicago and hit it off, before Michael-David has to return home to Ireland.

Mimi follows him to spend a week in his hometown, only to discover on her arrival that Ireland has begun its Covid-19 lockdown. Mimi’s return flight gets cancelled, and the pair are forced to spend the lockdown period together.

The film was shot almost entirely on an iPhone and its soundtrack features music from well-known Irish artists including Daithí and Melty Brains.

The documentary scooped the award for Best Short Documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh earlier this month, which means it qualifies for the 2021 Academy Awards.

McKernan said the award was “a truly incredible honour”, and thanked those who supported the film.

A shortlist will be compiled by the Academy in February, ahead of the nominations in March 2021. The Oscars are normally held earlier in the year, but due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the 2021 awards have been pushed back to April 25.

Read more: The Irish arts festivals that are adapting with online performances and revised formats

Read more: 8 classic (and brilliant) true crime documentaries you’ll want to watch now

Read more: Opinion: ‘There’ll be a second lockdown if we don’t start taking face masks seriously’